Hope had dimmed early Friday when rescue teams announced they been unable to locate any survivors buried in the remains of the Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola after an avalanche struck on Wednesday afternoon.

Officials had expressed fears that without quick progress, any survivors would succumb to the elements.

But as the day continued, six were located, then eight, then 10, and the rescues began.

“We always hoped to find someone alive," Titti Postiglione, of Italy's civil protection agency, told reporters. "The fact we found people alive after so many hours give us even more hope."